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Out of the 150 million children born each year, 51million – more than one-third – are not registered at birth. In developing countries, one in four has a birth registration rate of less than 50 percent. Without a birth certificate, children are often prevented from attending school or receiving adequate healthcare and are more vulnerable to becoming child soldiers or working as exploited labourers.

But the Community of Saint Giles (Comunità di Sant'Egidio in Italian), a Catholic association of lay people that serves the poor, is trying to change that. The Community has developed the BRAVO! programme, which stands for Birth Registration for All Versus Oblivion, to push for higher rates of birth registration in parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America. It's one of many initiatives, including the DREAM programme to combat AIDS featured on Global Voices in August 2013, that the Community has undertaken.

Global Voices recently spoke with Evelina Martelli, project manager for BRAVO!, about the programme, where it is operating, and why birth registration matters so much.

Global Voices (GV): What is the BRAVO programme and how did it come about?

Evelina Martelli (EM): The BRAVO! programme was inspired by what the Community of Sant'Egidio experienced when protecting the lives of children and guaranteeing them their rights. In many African and Asian countries, members of the Community noticed that the children they were helping often did not even have a birth certificate, and because of this they suffered serious consequences such as not being able to enroll in school and not receiving adequate medical care. In conflict situations, we noticed that the children without birth certificates were more likely to be recruited as child soldiers. Often these children are used to work in mines and plantations because the employers cannot be convicted of exploiting child labour as it is not possible to prove the age of the child.

BRAVO!, which stands for Birth Registration For All Versus Oblivion, is the programme that the Community of Sant'Egidio has created to ensure that all children are registered. BRAVO! promotes and encourages the registration of children at the moment of birth and resolves the problem of non-registered children through late registration procedures. They make the parents and the children aware of the importance of birth certificates and explain the procedure to follow to register births for free. They also promote the improvement of the registration services by training the registry office officials, improving their working conditions and creating offices closer to where the people live. It contributes to eliminating a major cause of human trafficking, slavery and child labour.

GV: Why is the registration of children so important for their future?

EM: Birth registration is the official recognition of the existence of a person. It is a fundamental human right under Article 7 of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child.

Children who are not registered are not eligible for legal, social and economic protection from the state nor do they have access to its services. They cannot, for example, make use of health services, or attend school, or get a qualification.

Without a legal identity, they are more likely to be exposed to abuse through exploitation, slavery, human trafficking, prostitution, forced labour or conscription as child soldiers. If they commit a crime, they are treated as adults and are not offered the same treatment as other children, such as being in separate cells from the adults.

Thanks to a birth certificate, as adults they will be able to participate in the democratic life of their country, vote and stand for election. They will have all the rights of a regular citizen, be able to travel, be employed with a regular contract, inherit, own property and be an active part of civil society in their country, contributing to its development.

Registering births is of fundamental importance also to the country. It is in fact the main source for producing population statistics, which provide the data necessary for health assessments and human development, including many of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

EM: The programme is running in all the countries where there are volunteers from the Community of Sant'Egidio: about 40 countries across sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America. Members of the Community explain the importance of birth registration to the families that they help through the various services offered (peace schools, the DREAM programme for the treatment of AIDS, canteens for malnourished children, food aid and support for street children, help for lepers and their families) and often help them with the registration process. They organise parties in the slums and villages to explain to parents and children the importance of registering and the necessary procedures. They promote awareness through campaigns in primary schools, hospitals and maternity wards.

In some African countries, the BRAVO! programme collaborates with the local authorities to promote the registration of the entire population. Together with the relevant authorities, they develop a strategy to ensure the registration of everyone who does not yet have a birth certificate and to improve the registry services so that in the future all newborns will be registered immediately after birth.

In Burkina Faso, the campaign promoted by the BRAVO! programme has brought about the registration of 3.5 million people (almost a quarter of the population), and today BRAVO! is involved in establishing a system, by training the staff, supporting the local registration offices and spreading awareness campaigns throughout the country.

In Mozambique, BRAVO! is promoting the registration of the population in the province of Nampula, which, with its 4.2 million inhabitants, is the most populated in the country, and is training staff in the district. Two new registration centres have already been built in rural areas and other centres will be opened soon. In this way it will be easier to register children at birth, taking advantage of the fact that it is free.

EM: The difficulties are mainly linked to the fact that the non-registration phenomenon is widespread. Out of the 150 million children born each year, 51million, more than a third, are not registered at birth. In developing countries, one in four has a birth registration rate of less than 50 percent.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the rates of birth registration are the lowest in the world, ranging from 55 percent to 67 percent of the total births not being registered. Basically, an estimated two out of three children are not registered at birth.

It is necessary that the governments invest in this area in order to guarantee the use of the registry systems to all citizens, but it is also essential that the citizens understand the importance of registration to ensure human rights, to promote a sense of citizenship and participation, so that the individual will not only feel a sense of belonging to a family or a clan, but also to the wider national community and gain a sense of being citizens who share a common destiny.

GV: In what way is the crisis in many Western countries affecting the programme?

EM: The economic crisis has huge effects on international aid, and securing funding is becoming even more complicated. One of the strengths of the programme is that it is sustainable because, after the initial phase of the adapting system to the needs of the population, the government bears the burden of the expenses of the registration system.

Furthermore, in recent years, the international community has become ever more aware of the need for registration as the basis of democracy and as a tool for planning and measuring health, social and economic progress. The BRAVO! Programme has benefited from the support of the Italian prime minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Germany. The most significant funding, however, came from private supporters in Europe, some Italian municipalities and Kindermissionswerk, the German Catholic Church's children's charity.

EM: In recent years, thanks to BRAVO!, we have seen many children go back to studying and many families discover new opportunities. Mothers who, thanks to their birth certificate, have obtained a license to trade, fathers who have got their driving license. It is great to see the first fruits of this work and know that we helped to protect the life of so many children, many of whom we will never know in person. It is a form of protection that will accompany them throughout their lives.